Today was a very bad day; my 97 B2500 tried to kill me!



Upon returning from vacation I hopped into Dajiban to run a few errands - bank, post office, etc.

The engine fired up but ran a bit rough, normal after sitting for more than a week. While I checked the letters I was going to mail for stamps and reviewed my deposit slips I heard the engine do a small backfire.

Then, BOOM! From under the engine cover came a loud explosion. It rocked the inside of the van enough to detach the rear view mirror from the windshield and dropped it onto the dashboard.

Flames and thick black smoke came pouring out from under the front right side of the van as I switched the engine off. I quickly jumped out and bolted into the garage for my fire extinguisher.

By the time I returned (maybe 10 seconds elapsed) the front of the van was engulfed in flames. Foolishly, and despite the smell of smoke and gasoline, I decided to continue with my plan and aimed the extinguisher hose into the opening above the left front wheel directly into the engine bay.

The fire went out but a strong smell of gasoline remained. I circled around the front and emptied the remainder of the extinguisher under the right side of the van in an effort to keep the fire out.

The chemical extinguisher worked brilliantly - no more flames.

Insurance man is coming to have a look but I expect a total loss. Good-bye Dajiban.



What I Suspect Happened

I think the distributor cap developed enough crud on the contacts while the van sat idle to cause this engine backfire. There is a Beck Arnley aluminum contact distributor cap installed along with a matching Beck Arnley rotor, both only about a year old. I would strongly advise against using these components!

Lessons To Be Learned

1. Keep a GOOD fire extinguisher in your garage! From now on I'll have TWO, one on the wall AND one in my vehicle with me!

2. Use a high quality distributor cap & rotor set like a Blue Streak with BRASS CONTACTS!

Hopefully my unfortunate experience can do some good by saving someone here from a similar fate. I certainly hope so....

 

I suspect that the fuel line and/or fuel rail had a leak and was starving the motor for fuel. In turn the leaking fuel line spilled enough fuel that it ignited and caused this mess. Hope it is not totaled, but if so I hope you get a fair deal from the insurance company.

Also glad the Ansul Sentry fire extinguisher did its job. I work on those type units, old but tried and true technology.

 

Ouch. I'm glad it wasn't successful.

Definitely keep a fire extinguisher in your vehicle. It saved me once....

 

Ouch!

In the past three years, I've sort of preached to the members here about how bad a cap-n-rotor set are with aluminum contacts. The best set is copper/brass.

Bummer that you had this happen. So, keep an eye out on Craigs list and Auto Trader for another Ram van your year or back 2 years. This way, you can swap parts when needed.

 

Sorry to hear about your loss. Glad you weren't hurt.

 

Thanks, it was definitely a scary situation. If you look at the picture of the right side door you can see just how far the flames came up.

 

The cap & rotor situation is pure speculation on my part but I believe it to be accurate based on what happened and how it happened.

My search for a replacement has begun but nothing on the radar as of yet. There is certainly a lot of junk for sale out there.

After driving the Mark III conversion I'm now spoiled and can never go back to a garden variety cargo van which lacks all of the power amenities.

Another thing I noticed right away is that the Mark III keeps cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter due to the insulation provided by the interior trimmings. And, it is SO much quieter on the road.